CSS Template for Database Driven Site, css design and content updates form database. Options

[UptonGirl]

My latest assignment is to come up with a CSS template that can be used to insert content from a database for a science and ethics project.

The main site for the project is here: http://www.umass.edu/sts/index.html

The example of the info that I need to design for is here: http://www.umass.edu/sts/ethics/online/Cas...hopal_Case.html


What the client wants is a template that will take content updates (or create new case sites with new info) from the database.

I realize that the template need content divs - but I have some questions to start:

I'm not sure the images will be a consistent size. How do I make image divs that are flexible?

As you can see on the Dhopal Case site - there are three obvious divisions on that page - the case - interviewees - resources. But, inside those divs are headers, links and images. What is the simplest way to lay this out so that the site will be clean and consistent - without need for tweaking the template for each case?

Siiiiigh - this is going to be an education.

[pandy]

I'm not sure the images will be a consistent size. How do I make image divs that are flexible?

Are those DIVs supposed to be floated? Don't give them a size. But if you are going to mimic that page, I don't think that's what you want, but you rather want the DIVs to be inflexible, so you can right align the images and get a straight margin towards the text. Make them as large as needed for the largest image.

[UptonGirl]

Okay Paddy - good start. Thanks. Now - forgive me if I sound uber-dumb (that's why they pay me the small bucks to learn as I go) but, when it comes to those interviews - I doubt there will be the same number each time. How do I account for that flexibility?

My problem is, the person who is doing the database end is very comfortable with the whole DB approach, but clueless about design and web page programming. I, OTOH, know some and continue to learn design and development - but haven't a clue about his database. So, I can't even test the results until I deliver a template.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh

>yes, I sigh a lot<

[pandy]

I assume you write the PHP template (or whatever you use) to spit out as many HTML formatted sections as there is in the database. Some kind of array. But I'm not into that really, so you are better off asking in the programming forum.

header
PHP creates any number of interviews, inluding the HTML for them
footer